Everton's Tim Cahill says the players must repay the faith David Moyes has shown in them. Photograph: Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto Ltd

David Moyes has started quoting Take That, which, scraping the barrel for positives, at least shows he retains a capacity to surprise after nine years at Everton. A squad tiring of its master's voice is one theory offered for Everton's reverse, a lack of investment, proven goalscorer and confidence among the others. The alternative presented by Tim Cahill is why he refuses to accept that decline is terminal: underachieving players who owe their manager a serious debt.

The major indictment of Everton's season is that it will not be over should they exit the FA Cup at the home of the holders, Chelsea, on Saturday. They still have Premier League survival to address. Everton head for Stamford Bridge having produced what Moyes labelled the worst performance of his distinguished tenure at Bolton Wanderers on Sunday, a 2-0 defeat that left the club three points above the relegation zone and invited accusations that commitment and team spirit are also part of the problem.

Moyes took full responsibility for what occurred at the Reebok Stadium. The club captain, Phil Neville, then did likewise on behalf of the players. Cahill is another who accepts accountability for Everton's plight but insists a squad that remains united behind the manager must begin to repay his faith.

"There are three months left in a massive season and I don't feel the alarm bells should be ringing out," said the Australia international, whose nine goals have been instrumental in keeping Everton out of the bottom three. "We should look at what we have got: great staff, great fans, great team and remember what we are good at, which is grafting with the best of them for every game rather than just chosen ones.

"As hard as it is for the players and the staff it must be especially difficult for the supporters to watch indifferent performances week in, week out. We need to find a consistency between playing in the big games and remembering that Bolton is a massive game as well. This is where we see the true leaders and the true team spirit that we were lacking at Bolton."

It was only three weeks ago that Everton should have beaten the champions in the fourth round at Goodison Park, and two years since losing in the FA Cup final to Guus Hiddink's team at Wembley. "Everton has been seen as a club that is growing and trying to get back in with the elite in the country," said Moyes. "But winning silverware that day might have allowed us to say we are back, and back for good. That's Take That, isn't it?" Indeed, and so was Everything Changes and Pray.

Aside from the first non-football reference of his Everton career, Moyes's ideas and decision to invest in new contracts for Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Leighton Baines, Jack Rodwell and others last summer is, according to the Australian, why he has not gone stale or lost the backing of his players.

"The hardest thing as a player is letting your manager down, the fans and then yourselves," says Cahill. "There is no sense from me that the manager's message isn't getting across. He has helped make my career. He has helped make a lot of players' careers and we need to remember the good stuff, not just on the pitch but what he's done for us off it and repay that.

"You can mention whoever you want and he's helped them. Steven Pienaar was playing in the Champions League the other night, Joleon Lescott is playing for one of the biggest teams in the world, and they have a lot to thank this manager for. He resurrected their careers. A lot of us wouldn't be at Everton if it wasn't for the manager. Yes, we've done a bit ourselves but the guidance we received off him has been invaluable.

"I look around the dressing room and Johnny [Heitinga] played in the World Cup final, Mikel is one of the best players in the Premier League, Phil Neville has won six Premier League titles, there's [Marouane] Fellaini and a lot of other internationals in the team. I look around the team and see superstars and it is all about us finding each other again and making sure we remember how good we are and trust each other on the pitch again. It is not only Chelsea this weekend, but Sunderland next week and in training. There are a lot of players on new contracts with bright futures with Everton and we need to repay the manager, the chairman and the fans by showing that."

The Bolton performance followed the release of Everton's latest financial results, which revealed debt of £47.6m and was accompanied by an admission from the club's chief executive, Robert Elstone, that transfer funds will again be restricted this summer. The perception that Everton are on a downward spiral, however, prompts a fierce rebuke from Cahill.

"We have to focus on what we have got, which is a lot of players on new contracts and the boss fighting to keep his best players," he says. "Everyone always blames the manager and the chairman but if you don't have the money, you don't have the money.

"I knew when I was signing the footprint of the club and what was happening. The only thing that has happened this year is that we haven't produced as players. It could have been a lot different if we as a team had produced better."